Shooting suspect apprehended

Kenneth C. Curnow

The Ridgecrest Police Department announced Thurs-day, Oct. 18, that it has apprehended the suspect wanted in the Sept. 21 shooting that occurred in the 300 block of North Robalo Street. A six-hour standoff the morning of Sept. 22 had shut down the 500 block of East Ridgecrest Boulevard.

Sidney Maiden Jr. was arrested Oct. 18 and charged with felony counts of attempted murder and assault with a firearm. Maiden is currently in custody.

According to a report issued by Chief of Police Ronald Strand Oct. 18, the shooting on Robalo Street left an unnamed victim with multiple gun wounds from “a small caliber handgun.”

The victim, who was transported to Ridgecrest Regional Hospital and then to Kern Medical Center, arrived in critical condition but “was later upgraded to a serious, but stable condition.”

On the morning of Sept. 22, detectives involved with the investigation were led to the 500 block of East Ridgecrest Boulevard. After having obtained a search warrant and evacuated neighbors, police surrounded the apartment building in which they believed the suspect to be.

“Due to the violent nature of the crime being investigated, the possibility of weapons, and the belief young children were inside of the apartment, it was surrounded and the occupants were called over loudspeaker and ordered to exit the residence,” said the report.

The refusal of the occupants to comply with the authorities resulted in a standoff that lasted more than six hours. Eventually the Kern County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team was called for assistance, and the occupant finally exited the apartment.

That occupant, Stacey Camp-bell, was arrested for child endangerment and obstructing a peace officer. The report also notes that another tenant, Jason Bostick, who was not in the apartment at the time was also arrested for drug and weapons charges.

The investigation led by Detective Kenny Merzlak identified Maiden, a parolee, as the suspect in the September shooting. A warrant was petitioned and granted and on Oct. 15, “Maiden was located inside a residence within the city of Ridgecrest and arrested by Detectives and Officers of the Ridgecrest Police Department.”

He was then transported to Bakersfield and charged with attempted murder. Assault with a firearm on person was later added. On Oct. 17, Maiden appeared at a felony arraignment and his pre-preliminary hearing was scheduled for Oct. 23.

Campbell is out on a $55,000 bond for one felony count of possession of a controlled substance and misdemeanor counts of obstruction of a peace officer and willful cruelty to a child. She will appear in a pre-preliminary hearing Oct. 30.

Bostick will also appear at a pre-preliminary hearing on Oct. 30, for three felony counts: possession of a controlled substance, possession of a firearm by a felon and possession of ammunition by a felon. Bostick is out on $75,000 bail.